You get what you need

I was searching all around my house Monday night for a couple of books that absolutely refused to be found. Makes me wonder if I’ve loaned them out and now forget just who the hell I gave them to. This really annoys me, almost as much as the tool I loaned a book to back when I was in the Marines. The jackhole didn’t dog ear pages to mark his place, but folded the whole damn page over from corner to spine.

Did I mention it was a hardcover book?

Anyway.

In the course of my futile search I did find two things. One I’ve been looking for more than a month, and the other I’d forgotten I had.

The first thing I found was my 2010 alumni association calendar buried under a pile of papers I’d moved in January. May not seem like much, but just the other day I was looking how much a replacement would cost (btw, $15). Now, without spending the money, I get to look upon the beautiful vistas of Chapel Hill every day. Win-win for me. Almost makes me glad I couldn’t find the book.

Almost, but not quite.

The other thing I found, which I actually found first, was a 2004 world atlas. It was tucked into the corner of my bookshelf, kinda-sorta behind a couple of other things, but not quite totally hidden. Almost as if it was waiting to be found. The atlas was a gift from an old girlfriend, one of those little things you pick up for someone you love that has a special meaning just between the two of you.

In this case – the short version – there’d been an epic day-long road trip involving what may or may not have been an underestimation of the time and distance involved.

When I pulled the slim, blue book off the shelf and flipped through its pages, two sheets of yellow notebook paper slipped out.

Have you ever found an old love letter? I mean finding one by accident when it just kind of pops up unexpectedly? It’s an interesting experience. For me, it brought back all the memories of the time spent with a woman I loved and, to tell the truth, someone I still care very, very deeply about.

More than half a decade down the road, well, I’m still smiling a little after reading, rereading and, yes, reading her words again.

Monday night was a good night.